Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl Read Free Book Online

refined than the last maid.”
    The Duchess’s kohl-lined eyes narrowed. “But you always seemed to like Annie…until the day you dismissed her.”
    Liza edged closer, hoping to hear something useful.
    “She pried into my private business so she had to go.” His dark eyebrows came together in a scowl and his fingers pressed the Duchess’s hand harder as he rubbed.
    “Sir John, you are hurting me!” the Duchess cried. She pulled back her hand. His cufflink snagged her pearl bracelet and the clasp came apart. Pearls spilled everywhere.
    “Girl! Don’t just stand there!” Sir John barked at Liza.
    Liza scurried to chase the pearls rolling into every corner. Under a settee, she found a dusty embroidery hoop and gathered the pieces of the bracelet in the bamboo circle.
    The Duchess, apparently forgetting Liza, turned back to Sir John. “What are we to do about this terrible newspaper?” she asked in German.
    “My lady, this story can only help us.”
    “How can you say so?”
    He glanced over at Liza. She was careful to appear uncomprehending, as she reached for a pearl in an unswept corner.
    “Did you read to the end?” he asked.
    “I was too upset to read that far,” confessed the Duchess.
    “The writer feels you are an excellent choice to be her regent.”
    “So I am.” The Duchess almost purred with anticipation. “Victoria will be happy for me to assume her terrible burden, I’m sure of it,” she said. “She is anxious about her future. You know what tempers she’s had lately.”
    “Let her have her tantrums. In the end, she’ll do as she’s told,” said Sir John. “We have a year to bring her to heel.”
    I never expected to feel sorry for a Princess.
    “Unless the King dies before she’s eighteen, we are left with nothing,” the Duchess said, her voice dropping to a whisper.
    Liza breathed as shallowly as she could.
    Sir John smiled. “This reporter goes so far as to suggest your regency be extended.”
    The Duchess sat up straight. “Until Victoria is twenty-one?”
    “Or longer!” he said, watching her intently. “We’d have years to ensure we…you get what you deserve.”
    The Duchess caught his thought and went further. “We could pay my debts, reward you properly for your service, commission a decent wardrobe…” She couldn’t list the advantages quickly enough. “If only William would die, as he’s been threatening to do these past six years!”
    “Even if he lives past Victoria’s eighteenth birthday, I have a plan,” Sir John reassured her. “Parliament reads the papers. The Lords are worried they will have to deal with a featherbrained girl. They much prefer to work with us. Who knows, Your Grace?” He lifted her hand to his full lips. “Parliament may let you rule indefinitely. Victoria need never bother her head about the crown.”
    They want the throne for themselves! Worn out by her fretting, the Duchess’s body sagged against the padded arm of the settee. “I’m exhausted. I need to lie down.”
    “You must rest, before your responsibilities overwhelm you,” Sir John said to the Duchess.
    Envy coursed through Liza; she wouldn’t mind a respite herself.
    The Duchess leaned against his chest for a moment and her fingertips touched his sideburns, then she click-clacked out of the room.
    Even before the sound of the Duchess’s shoes faded, Sir John turned to Liza, where she still knelt on the carpet, chasing the Duchess’s forgotten pearls.
    “Let me be of assistance,” he said in English. His voice was silky. Without warning, he placed his hands on her waist and effortlesslylifted her up. His hands lingered too long and Liza felt a blush creeping from her shoulder blades up to her cheeks. She wished she had heeded Mama’s advice and worn a corset.
    “Thank you, sir. I can stand on my own.”
    Sir John reached out and ran his finger through the long blonde curl hanging next to her cheek. “So charming. You’re certain to win Victoria’s